


Synthesis Thirty-Three

by Anonymous



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 11:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20527181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Eugeo falls out of the tower with Alice and comes face to face with a pure black Integrity Knight.





	Synthesis Thirty-Three

Pure black. Kirito had always preferred the colour black but it was the first time Eugeo had seen him in something that was purely black like the night sky. Maybe it was that or maybe it was the expression on his face that somehow made seem him both years older and ageless at the same time that made Eugeo freeze up completely for the first few seconds. A pure black Integrity Knight.

Alice was saying something next to him but nothing reached Eugeo’s ears. Kirito, an Integrity Knight— it seemed like nothing but a bad joke. Kirito was strong. Eugeo had in some way thought he’d be fine no matter what happened. He _had _to be fine. That’s what he had believed and that’s what had made him climb the tower again, even after he and Alice had fallen down. They had taken too long. Alice hadn’t listened to anything that he was saying and even his best attempts had accomplished nothing but make her agree to at least hear out Kirito, apparently convinced from his explanations that he was the ring-leader.

“Huh”, Kirito said, his eyes surveying them. “Quinella was right. Somebody really made it up here. Alice defecting was unexpected though…”

“It was true…”, he heard her murmur, her voice shaking. “I didn’t want to believe it but it was _true_—“

Kirito smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile but cold, colder than anything Eugoe had ever seen on his face. “After coming this far I suppose telling you to turn around won’t work.” He put his hand on his sword. “And I can’t let you attack Quinella…”

“… K-Kirito—“, Eugeo’s voice broke off. “You really have—? But, h-how?”

Kirito inclined his head to the left side. “Kirito?”

His voice was peculiar, like he had never heard his own name before and something cold solidified in Eugeo’s stomach. Alice was shivering, clutching her eye, some tears dropping to the ground. The seal must be acting up…! Eugeo’s gaze flipped from Kirito to Alice and then back. If Alice decided to actually attack him now, he’d have no chance of winning. And if the seal took out her eye then even if she decided to actually switch sides, she’d be disadvantaged. But if it was Alice— they might just still manage to do it.

“I don’t know any Kirito.”

What?

“I’m Kazuto Synthesis Thirty-Three.”

“Ka—Kazuto?” That was strange, his name shouldn’t have changed. All of the other synthesized people had still remembered their names, even if she had changed that for some reason in the synthesizing ritual, it should be more of a negative than a merit. Kirito was more likely to notice a fake name even with his disrupted memories—

Unless of course it wasn’t a fake name.

It had slipped naturally through Kirito’s lips, easily like breathing and for the first time during Eugeo’s acquaintanceship with Kirito, he wondered if maybe the name he had been given had been fake. Kirito had had amnesia, so it could easily be an accident but… he wondered why, somehow, his brain was refusing to accept that.

“Thinking about it, I don’t really like when you say it. Kirito is fine.”

It wasn’t fine. And it never would be again. Kazuto. Another strange name but it fit. “You don’t remember?”, he heard himself ask quietly, despite knowing the answer.

“What am I supposed to remember?”

“We are friends— no, partners! You taught the way of the sword, we are—“

“Sorry”, Kirito broke him off. “I can’t be bothered to listen to such obvious lies.”

“W-What? I know you don’t remember anymore but—”

“I don’t need a friend, never mind a partner. I fight alone. There is no way I’d teach somebody else how to sword fight either.”

“Alone?”

Kirito, alone? He couldn’t even imagine it. He was always around other people. Shining brighter than anyone else, drawing everyone towards him, even after appearing at the village as an amnesiac who didn’t remember his calling, he was never alone.

“That’s wrong”, Eugeo stated. Alone? Is that how Kirito had felt? Even after calling them friends, after calling Eugeo his partner— is that why he had looked like he was about to cry while tending the flowers? “You are not alone!” He wondered what that feeling was. It wasn’t rage, it wasn’t sadness. What was this feeling of frustration? Of helplessness? “You have me, have Ronye, Sortiliena-senpai— even Selka back at the village and Cardinal!”

Kirito twitched and Eugeo hoped for a second that anything he had said had struck a chord with him but his lips just turned down, his eyebrows pulling low. “What do you want?”

“What do I want?”, he repeated like a broken record. That was… obvious. “I want to save you.”

“That’s why you climbed up this tower?” He didn’t sound like he believed him in the least.

“No I—“, he looked over at Alice who had slumped to the ground. “I came here to save her together with you.”

“With me.” The statement was dry. “Then then why don’t you just leave? I assure you I don’t need any saving."

Something was wrong with Kirito. Why wasn’t he just attacking? Why talk with them for this long? Within that cold gaze, what was he thinking? Whatever he was thinking, this was his chance. He still had the knife… if he couldn’t convince him then he could always stab him with that.

“I won’t leave you behind.”

Kirito grabbed his sword, pulling it out. Both him and Alice tensed up, though the pain prevented her from doing much. “You are bad at taking a no, aren’t you?”

“That’s not true.”

“A hint, too”, Kirito took a few steps forward, getting into formation. “I hate guys like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was literally titled "oh no" in my WIP folder. There are probably multiple questions that came up while reading this like: "Shouldn't he be Synthesis Thirty-Two?"  
Yes. The answer is yes.


End file.
